Lovers in Bloom Heart Couple Majolica

The majolica technique involves glazing the piece, which can be done by brush, by cascade, by sprinkling or by following a very ancient technique: by immersion, which involves dipping the object in a bath of white glaze. For Lovers in Bloom, this technique was used. Seemingly simple, this operation instead requires a great deal of skill to get a fair and even amount of glaze deposited over the entire surface. Neither too much nor too little. The drawing of flowering lovers was then done freehand with brushes of different thicknesses to achieve the desired effect. Ceramic colors used for flowering lovers are made from various metal oxides, earths and minerals. Green shades with copper oxide, yellow shades with iron oxide, and manganese oxide the browns. Colors and glaze must then be baked to gain texture and gloss, so flower lovers was baked for a second firing at about 940 degrees C.

Every small imperfection is documented in the photos, a testament to the uniqueness and craftsmanship of the work.